Watched him again tonight and made a point to watch his play defensively.

Was very aware and very smart defensively. Good stick and body positioning and even won a few battles against bigger, older and stronger forwards just because of his smarts.

This kid is like Pat Kane to me. Very shifty, quick, smart and has quick hands.

I have no doubts that this kid will be the WHL's top prospect for 2013.

Why would you bother making a point of watching his D play? His play in that zone of the ice at this point from a future standpoint is basically pointless. I wouldn't think anyone from an NHL projection standpoint would care about it right now ; it can be taught. Just a weird thing to wonder about right now.

Why would you bother making a point of watching his D play? His play in that zone of the ice at this point from a future standpoint is basically pointless. I wouldn't think anyone from an NHL projection standpoint would care about it right now ; it can be taught. Just a weird thing to wonder about right now.

Why would you bother making a point of watching his D play? His play in that zone of the ice at this point from a future standpoint is basically pointless. I wouldn't think anyone from an NHL projection standpoint would care about it right now ; it can be taught. Just a weird thing to wonder about right now.

Ummm...to see how well he thinks the game? To see how aware he is? To see how responsible he is? To see if he can match up physically when trying to cover bigger, older and stronger players?

Pretty obvious there bud. Players with good defensive tendencies at the age of 16 are worth a mention, don't ya think?

Ummm...to see how well he thinks the game? To see how aware he is? To see how responsible he is? To see if he can match up physically when trying to cover bigger, older and stronger players?

Pretty obvious there bud. Players with good defensive tendencies at the age of 16 are worth a mention, don't ya think?

I think you can determine how well he thinks the game by watching his Offensive play.

Im just saying i think it's weird that you went out of your way to observe such tendancies. His defensive abilities are almost irrelevant right now in determining how high end of a prospect he is for the future.

Maybe its just me, but i find it odd that we're even discussing his play in his own zone, seems rather needless right now.

I think you can determine how well he thinks the game by watching his Offensive play.

Im just saying i think it's weird that you went out of your way to observe such tendancies. His defensive abilities are almost irrelevant right now in determining how high end of a prospect he is for the future.

Maybe its just me, but i find it odd that we're even discussing his play in his own zone, seems rather needless right now.

He is a 16 year old playing major junior, he isn't a 13 year old playing Peewee, of course his defensive play is relevant. Is Sean Couturier's defensive play irrelevant too then?

I think you can determine how well he thinks the game by watching his Offensive play.

Im just saying i think it's weird that you went out of your way to observe such tendancies. His defensive abilities are almost irrelevant right now in determining how high end of a prospect he is for the future.

Maybe its just me, but i find it odd that we're even discussing his play in his own zone, seems rather needless right now.

It is just you..

I can guarantee you that scouts watching him play these days in the WHL are paying pretty close attention to how he handles himself defensively in a league known to be tight checking.

Why would it be considered irrelevant at this point in time?

Players grow and mature offensively, just like they do defensively. You are clueless.

5 or so years ago when I was playing in Bantam, we were able to call up players from Peewee 1. Hunter was on that team, it was kinda of unfair for teams we played though, haha, he was always the best player on the ice and he was playing against kids 2-3 years older then him.

Ive known him since he was very young through hockey. He used to skate with the Calgary Hitmen sometimes during warmup. Theres a picture of him when he was 2-3 years old standing with the Hitmen around their net. If you google image Hunter Shinkaruk 1997 it should be the second picture.

He seems to be doing good so far these playoffs, 4 goals, 5 assists in 10 games.

As said above he has a late birthday so hes not eligibile until the 2013 draft, so he will have two more years to develop before then.

5 or so years ago when I was playing in Bantam, we were able to call up players from Peewee 1. Hunter was on that team, it was kinda of unfair for teams we played though, haha, he was always the best player on the ice and he was playing against kids 2-3 years older then him.

Ive known him since he was very young through hockey. He used to skate with the Calgary Hitmen sometimes during warmup. Theres a picture of him when he was 2-3 years old standing with the Hitmen around their net. If you google image Hunter Shinkaruk 1997 it should be the second picture.

He seems to be doing good so far these playoffs, 4 goals, 5 assists in 10 games.

As said above he has a late birthday so hes not eligibile until the 2013 draft, so he will have two more years to develop before then.

?

Also, wtf? Is that thing on the side of his skate the grafs logo? He is like 3 years old and his skates are grafs? His dad must be rich, holy batman.

This guy plays exactly like Patrick Kane, next year hes gonna light it up, after that he'll be in the top 5 in scoring prior to his draft year.

This guy spent like 90% of his time playing hockey growing up, in the 10% was School and Life. My cousin knows people that played with him/against and had the same tryouts with him. Look at his videos on youtube, you'll see.

Looking back at this thread it's funny to see the mini argument I had with that guy talking about Hunter's defensive play.

It is funny, because of course it such a pointless facet to discuss at this time. The level of his Defensive game is at this point not really a warranted discussion, what is far more important is assessing his natural skills.

Anyway, based on his statistics this year, i'd be highly suprised if he wasn't a very high pick in 2013.

is there anyone else in the chl putting up these kind of numbers that's not eligible until 2013? If not this guy has a pretty good case for 1st overall atm. I mean most elite prospects for his draft class are still in midget and who knows how they will translate to the chl or whatever level they decide to play at next. I'm not saying guys like mackinnon and lazar won't put up good numbers but there is a chance they won't, and this guy has already proven he can produce at the chl level and will most likely continue to improve and grow

is there anyone else in the chl putting up these kind of numbers that's not eligible until 2013? If not this guy has a pretty good case for 1st overall atm. I mean most elite prospects for his draft class are still in midget and who knows how they will translate to the chl or whatever level they decide to play at next. I'm not saying guys like mackinnon and lazar won't put up good numbers but there is a chance they won't, and this guy has already proven he can produce at the chl level and will most likely continue to improve and grow